When you create an Auto feature, PC-DMIS inserts the command for that feature into the Edit window. This topic documents the different fields that may appear in the Command mode of the Edit window for the different features.
Click on one of the hyper-linked features below to see a representation of its code in the Edit window. Click again on the hyper-linked text to hide the code. In the table below, locate the field or command line used in your Auto Feature to see what it does.
Vector Point | Surface Point | Edge Point | Angle Point | Corner Point | High Point | Line | Plane | Circle | Ellipse | Round Slot | Square Slot | Notch Slot | Cylinder | Cone | Sphere | Polygon
Fields or commands in this documentation that are marked with relate to Extended Fields .
ID
This field shows the feature's identification label. See "ID
box".
FEAT/CONTACT
This command displays the type of probing and the Auto feature type. See
"Auto feature Type list".
POLAR or CARTESIAN
This field switches between POLAR and CARTESIAN and displays the X, Y,
Z, I, J, K values in the selected coordinate system. See "Polar
/ Cartesian Toggle".
TRIANGLE
or OUTLINE
For a Plane feature, this field switches between TRIANGLE or OUTLINE. It
determines how the plane gets displayed in the Graphic Display window.
See "Display list".
Used only on these features - PLANE
IN or OUT
This field switches between IN and OUT. It determines whether or not the
feature is an internal feature (such as a hole) or an external feature
(such as a stud). See "Inner
/ Outer".
Used only on these features - CIRCLE, ELLIPSE, ROUND SLOT, SQUARE SLOT, CYLINDER, CONE, SPHERE, POLYGON
LEAST_SQR
This field determines the calculation routine used to create the feature
from the measured hits. It can toggle between LEAST_SQR, MIN_SEP, MAX_INSC,
MIN_CIRCSC, and FIXED_RAD. See "Calculation
list".
The Plane feature can toggle between LEAST_SQR and MIN_SEP only.
Used only on these features - CIRCLE, CYLINDER, PLANE, SPHERE
THEO/
This stands for "theoretical".
TX, TY, TZ, TI, TJ, TK represent the theoretical
(or nominal) hit location and vector.
TLI, TLJ, TLK represent the theoretical line vector.
TEI, TEJ, TEK represent the theoretical edge vector.
TSI, TSJ, TSK represent the surface theoretical vector.
TS2I,TS2J,TS2K represent the theoretical vector for the second surface.
TLENGTH represents the feature's theoretical length.
TDIAM represents the feature's theoretical diameter. For ellipses,
this is the major diameter.
TDIAM2 is an ellipse's minor diameter. TANG1 represents the feature's
theoretical starting angle. TANG2 represents the feature's theoretical
ending angle.
TAI,TAJ,TAK represents the theoretical angle vector.
TWIDTH and TLENGTH represent the theoretical width and length of the
feature.
TANGLE represents the feature's angle.
ACTL/
This stands for "actual".
X, Y, Z, I, J, K represent the actual measured
hit location and vector.
SI, SJ, SK, represent the measured vector for the surface.
LI, LJ, LK represent the measured line vector.
EI, EJ, EK represent the measured edge vector.
LENGTH represents the feature's measured length.
DIAM represents the feature's measured diameter. ANG1 represents the
feature's actual starting angle. ANG2 represents the feature's actual
ending angle.
AI, AJ, AK represents the measured angle vector.
WIDTH and LENGTH represent the measured width and length of the feature.
ANGLE represents the feature's angle.
TARG/
This stands for "target".
The fields targX, targY, targZ, targI, targJ, targK allow you to control the measurement location and vector approach direction for execution while having the ability to have a completely different THEO value.
The fields targAI, targAJ, targAK let you modify the target's angle IJK vector.
MEAS/
This stands for "measured".
The fields X, Y, Z, I, J, K represent the actual measured hit location and vector.
SI, SJ, SK represent the measured vector for the surface. S2I, S2J, S2K represent the measured vector for the second surface.
NUMSIDES
This editable value must be an integer of three or higher. It defines how
many sides are in the polygon. See "Num
Sides list".
Used only on these features - POLYGON
RADIUS
This editable value defines a radius for each corner in the polygon or
square slot. When taking hits, PC-DMIS moves in along the side by that
amount before taking hits. This helps to avoid taking hits directly in
the corner. See "Corner Rad box".
Used only on these features - POLYGON, SQUARE SLOT
NUMSIDES
Used only on these features - POLYGON
RADIUS
START ANG
This field defines the feature's starting angle. See "Start
and End Angles".
Used only on these features - ELLIPSE, CONE, CYLINDER
START ANG1
This field defines the feature's starting angle horizontally, around the
equator of a sphere. See "Start
and End Angles".
Used only on these features - SPHERE
START ANG2
This field defines the feature's starting angle vertically, around the
poles of a sphere. See "Start
and End Angles".
Used only on these features - SPHERE
END ANG
This field defines the feature's ending angle. See "Start
and End Angles".
Used only on these features - ELLIPSE, CONE, CYLINDER
END ANG1
This field defines the feature's ending angle horizontally, around the
equator of a sphere. See "Start
and End Angles".
Used only on these features - SPHERE
END ANG2
This field defines the feature's ending angle vertically, around the poles
of a sphere. See "Start and End
Angles".
Used only on these features - SPHERE
MEAS ANGLE
This field defines an angle value determining how much of the arc making
up the rounded edges of the Round Slot to measure. See "Meas
Angle box".
Used only on these features - ROUND SLOT
INCREMENT
This field defines the increment distance away from the start point that
the probe moves when following its search pattern. See "Increment
box".
Used only on these features - HIGH POINT
TOL
This defines the tolerance value to use during the search process. See
"Tolerance box".
Used only on these features - HIGH POINT
CIRCULAR or BOX
This field switches between CIRCULAR or BOX. It defines the search region.
See "Box / Circular list".
Used only on these features - HIGH POINT
OUTER RADIUS
For a CIRCULAR search region, this field defines the search region's outer
radius. See "Inner/Outer list".
Used only on these features - HIGH POINT
INNER RADIUS
For a CIRCULAR search region, this field defines the search region's inner
radius. See "Inner/Outer list".
Used only on these features - HIGH POINT
WIDTH
For a BOX search region, this field defines the width of the rectangular
search region. See "Width box".
Used only on these features - HIGH POINT
LENGTH
For a BOX search region, this field defines the length of the rectangular
search region. See "Length box".
Used only on these features - HIGH POINT
BOUNDED or UNBOUNDED
This field appears for Line features. It determines the type of Line feature.
It switches between BOUNDED and UNBOUNDED. See "Bounded
list".
Used only on these features - LINE
EXTERIOR or INTERIOR
This field switches between EXTERIOR and INTERIOR; it describes the type
of angle. See "Interior / Exterior
list".
Used only on these features - ANGLE POINT, CORNER POINT
REPORT VEC -
This command indicates the vector used for reporting deviation. See "Extended Sheet Metal
Options area".
Used only on these features - LINE, SURFACE POINT, VECTOR POINT
UPDATE VEC -
This command indicates the update vector that is used to pierce the CAD
surface. See "Extended
Sheet Metal Options area".
Used only on these features - VECTOR POINT
ANGLE VEC
This defines the angle vector for the feature. See "IJK
Angle boxes".
REMEASURE
This field, if set to YES, re-measures the feature against the feature's
measured values. See "Measure
Now and Re-Measure Toggle".
Used only on these features - CIRCLE, NOTCH SLOT, SQUARE SLOT, ROUND SLOT, CYLINDER, POLYGON
PUNCH -
This field indicates the direction of the punch through the sheet metal.
It is an editable value. See "Extended
Sheet Metal Options area".
Used only on these features - CIRCLE, SQUARE SLOT, ROUND SLOT
PIN -
This field indicates the direction of the point through the hole formed
by the punch. See "Extended
Sheet Metal Options area".
Used only on these features - CIRCLE, SQUARE SLOT, ROUND SLOT
REPORT -
This field indicates the vector used for reporting deviation. See "Extended Sheet Metal
Options area".
Used only on these features - EDGE POINT
SURFACE_REPORT -
This field indicates the vector used for reporting deviation. See "Extended Sheet Metal
Options area".
Used only on these features - EDGE POINT
MEASURE ORDER
This toggle field displays the order of measuring the sample hits. The
available choices are SURFACE, EDGE, or BOTH. See "Measure
Order list".
Used only on these features - EDGE POINT
SQUARE or RADIAL
For a Plane feature, this field switches between SQUARE and RADIAL. It
defines the hit pattern for hits making up the feature. See "Pattern
list".
Used only on these features - PLANE
SURFACE/, SURFACE2/,
SURFACE3/
Any of these command lines switches between either THEO_THICKNESS, ACTL_THICKNESS,
or THICKNESS_NONE. If the latter, then no thickness is used. Otherwise,
this displays the thickness of the part for the positive or negative values
can be used. See "Use Thickness".
EDGE/
For a Line feature, this command determines the edge thickness of the line.
See "Use Thickness"
Used only on these features - LINE
MEASURE MODE
This command switches between these measuring modes: FINDNOMS, VECTOR,
NOMINAL, MASTER, and SET NOM AX. See "Nominals
Mode list".
RMEAS/
This command has three fields separated by commas. If you have a single
RMEAS feature (relative feature), it occupies all three fields. If you
have an RMEAS feature, one for each axis, they occupy the three fields
left to right: X axis RMEAS feature, Y axis RMEAS feature, and Z axis
RMEAS feature. See "Setting
Up Relative Measure (RMEAS)".
The relative feature or features in this command must already exist in the measurement routine.
DIRECTION
This command defines the direction in which hits are taken. It switches
between CCW (counterclockwise) and CW (clockwise). See "Direction
List".
Used only on these features - CIRCLE, CYLINDER
CIRCULAR MOVES/
This command has a single YES/NO toggle field. If set to yes, then PC-DMIS
moves the probe in a circular motion. See "Circular
Moves".
Used only on these features - CIRCLE, ELLIPSE, ROUND SLOT, SQUARE SLOT, NOTCH SLOT, CYLINDER, CONE, SPHERE, POLYGON
AUTO WRIST/
This command has a single YES/NO toggle field. If set to YES, then during
feature creation PC-DMIS automatically chooses the best probe angle to
use for measuring the feature and inserts the appropriate TIP/ command
before the feature. See "Auto Wrist".
CLEARPLANE/
This command has a single YES/NO toggle field. If set to YES, then during
feature creation PC-DMIS automatically inserts a MOVE/CLEARPLANE
command (relative to the current coordinate system and part origin) before
the feature. See "Clearance
Plane".
GRAPHICAL ANALYSIS/
This command has a YES/NO toggle field. If set to YES, then PC-DMIS displays
a graphical analysis of the feature in the Graphic Display window. Three
other fields become enabled. These three fields, from left to right, allow
you to determine the Graphical Analysis Point Size, the Plus Tolerance,
and the Minus Tolerance. See "Analysis
area".
FEATURE LOCATOR/
Initially, this command looks like this: FEATURE
LOCATOR/NO,NO,"<text instructions>"
The left-most YES/NO toggle field indicates whether or not the Feature Locator tab displays a bitmap image. If you set this to YES, an additional field bounded by quotation marks becomes enabled, allowing you to type the full pathway to the bitmap image to display:
FEATURE LOCATOR/YES,"<pathway to bitmap file>",NO,"<text instructions>"
The next YES/NO toggle field indicates whether or not the Feature Locator tab plays an audio file (.wav). If you set this to YES, an additional field bounded by quotation marks becomes enabled, allowing you to type the full pathway to the audio file to play:
FEATURE LOCATOR/YES,"<pathway to bitmap file>",YES,"pathway to audio file","<text instructions>"
The final field, "<text instructions>", lets you display textual instructions in the Feature Locator tab. See "Feature Locator Tab" topic in the PC-DMIS Vision documentation.
SHOW_CONTACT_PARAMETERS
This YES/NO toggle field determines whether or not PC-DMIS displays additional
contact parameters used with the Auto feature in the Edit window. Setting
this to YES displays the following fields if applicable to the Auto feature:
NUMHITS, NUMROWS, PITCH, DEPTH, STARTING DEPTH, ENDING DEPTH, SAMPLE HITS,
SPACER, INDENT, AVOIDANCE MOVE, FIND HOLE, ON ERROR, READ POS.
SAMPLE METHOD
This toggle field determines whether surface sampling is done by using
the hits from an existing feature or by sample hits.
If SAMPLE METHOD = SAMPLE_HITS then the SAMPLE HITS and SPACER fields appear in the command block.
If SAMPLE METHOD = SAMPLE_FEATURE then the SAMPLE FEATURE field appears in the command block, and the SAMPLE HITS and SPACER fields are hidden.
For details, see the "Working with Contact Sample Hits Properties" topic in the PC-DMIS CMM documentation.
Used only on these features - CIRCLE, CONE, CYLINDER, ELLIPSE, POLYGON, NOTCH, ROUND SLOT, SQUARE SLOT, SURFACE POINT, LINE
SAMPLE FEATURE
If the SAMPLE METHOD = SAMPLE_FEATURE, this field appears. It determines
the feature to use for surface sampling.
For details, see the "Working with Contact Sample Hits Properties" topic in the PC-DMIS CMM documentation.
Used only on these features - CIRCLE, CONE, CYLINDER, ELLIPSE, POLYGON, NOTCH, ROUND SLOT, SQUARE SLOT, SURFACE POINT, LINE
SAMPLE HITS
For features that support sample hits, this value defines the number of
sample hits to take during feature measurement. Acceptable values depend
on the type of feature.
For details, see the "Working with Contact Sample Hits Properties" topic in the PC-DMIS CMM documentation.
Used only on these features - ANGLE POINT, CIRCLE, CONE, CORNER POINT, CYLINDER, EDGE POINT, ELLIPSE, LINE, NOTCH SLOT, POLYGON, ROUND SLOT, SPHERE, SQUARE SLOT, SURFACE POINT
SPACER
This field defines the distance from the nominal point location (or locations)
that PC-DMIS uses to measure a sample plane if sample hits are specified.
For details, see the "Working with Contact Sample Hits Properties" topic in the PC-DMIS CMM documentation.
Used only on these features - SURFACE POINT, EDGE POINT, ANGLE POINT, CORNER POINT, PLANE, CIRCLE, ELLIPSE, ROUND SLOT, SQUARE SLOT, NOTCH SLOT, CYLINDER, CONE, POLYGON, LINE
INDENT1, INDENT2,
INDENT3
For all but LINE, this defines offset distance from the feature's point
or center location to the first sample hit.
For the LINE feature, INDENT2 defines the offset distance from the line's end points to the sample hits for points two and three when three sample hits are used. INDENT1 defines the offset distance for point 1 when one or three sample hits are used.
For details, see the "Working with Contact Sample Hits Properties" topic in the PC-DMIS CMM documentation.
Used only on these features - EDGE POINT, ANGLE POINT, CORNER POINT, NOTCH SLOT, LINE
NUMHITS
This field determines the number of hits to take when measuring the feature.
See "Working
with Contact Path Properties".
Used only on these features - LINE, PLANE, CIRCLE, ELLIPSE, ROUND SLOT, CYLINDER, CONE, SPHERE, POLYGON
NUMROWS
This field determines how many rows of hits to use when measuring the feature.
See "Working
with Contact Path Properties".
Used only on these features - PLANE
NUMLEVELS
This field determines how many levels of hits to use when measuring features
with multiple levels. See "Working
with Contact Path Properties".
Used only on these features - CONE, CYLINDER
DEPTH
This field determines the offset distance either below a surface or up
from the bottom of a feature where PC-DMIS measures the feature. See "Working
with Contact Path Properties".
Used only on these features - EDGE POINT, LINE, CIRCLE, ELLIPSE, ROUND SLOT, SQUARE SLOT, NOTCH SLOT, POLYGON
STARTING DEPTH
This field defines the starting depth of the first level of hits for features
with multiple levels. This depth is offset from the top of the feature.
See "Working
with Contact Path Properties".
Used only on these features - CONE, CYLINDER
ENDING DEPTH
This field defines the ending depth of the last level of hits for features
with multiple levels. This depth is offset from the top of the feature.
See "Working
with Contact Path Properties".
Used only on these features - CONE, CYLINDER
PITCH
This field determines the distance between threads along the axis of the
feature. See "Working
with Contact Path Properties".
Used only on these features - CIRCLE, CYLINDER
AVOIDANCE MOVE/
This command indicates when to apply an avoidance move and the amount to
move. It contains two fields. The left field toggles between these options:
NO - No avoidance move
BOTH - Moves both before and after the feature is measured
BEFORE - Moves only before the feature is measured
AFTER - Moves only after the feature is measured
The right field (DISTANCE = n) lets you define a number value that determines the distance of the avoidance move. See "Working with Contact Auto Move Properties".
USE BOUNDARY OFFSET
This YES/NO toggle field appears if VOID DETECTION=YES and if the current
Auto feature is a plane. It determines whether or not a user-defined boundary
offset distance is used for void detection. If this is set to YES, then
the OFFSET field appears defining the minimum distance. If it is set to
NO, then the OFFSET field is hidden, and the software uses a default distance
of the radius of the current tip. See "Working
with Contact Auto Move Properties".
Used only on these features - CIRCLE, CYLINDER, ROUND SLOT, SQUARE SLOT, NOTCH SLOT, POLYGON
FIND HOLE
This toggle field determines the method PC-DMIS uses to find hole features.
Available options include: DISABLED, CENTER, SINGLE HIT, or NOCENTER.
See "Working
with Contact Find Hole Properties".
Used only on these features - CIRCLE, CYLINDER, POLYGON
ONERROR
This YES/NO field determines whether or not PC-DMIS uses improved error
checking when it detects an unexpected or missed hit.
If set to YES and a machine error (such as an unexpected hit) occurs, then PC-DMIS displays the Read Position dialog box. You can then use your jog box to move the machine to the feature's location and attempt to re-measure it.
If set to NO, the usual "Movement Interrupted" message appears instead.
See "Working with Contact Find Hole Properties".
Used only on these features - ANGLE POINT, CIRCLE, EDGE POINT, CORNER POINT, ELLIPSE, ROUND SLOT, SQUARE SLOT, NOTCH SLOT, CYLINDER, CONE, POLYGON
READ POS
This YES/NO field determines whether or not PC-DMIS pauses execution above
the surface feature displaying a message, asking if you want to use the
current data. See "Working
with Contact Find Hole Properties".
Used only on these features - CIRCLE, ELLIPSE, ROUND SLOT, SQUARE SLOT, NOTCH SLOT, CYLINDER, CONE, POLYGON
SHOWHITS
This YES/NO toggle field determines whether or not PC-DMIS displays all
the hits making up the feature. If set to YES, then PC-DMIS displays a
HIT/BASIC command line for each hit.
If you want to see the hits in the Graphic Display window, see "Show Hit Targets".
HIT/BASIC
This command line displays the theoretical XYZ, the theoretical IJK, and
the measured XYZ values for the hit.